Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility - Handbook for Participating Organisations
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Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility
Handbook for participating organisations
Erasmus+
International Credit Mobility
Handbook for Participating Organisations
Version 4.1 – February 2020
(Calls 2018, 2019 & 2020)
Handbook for participating organisations
January 2020
1
Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility
Hand book for participating organisations
Contents
Acronyms and abbreviations 3
I – What is ICM and how do I apply? 5
Grant breakdown 6
Who can apply? 7
Eligible partner organisations 7
Roles and responsibilities 8
Timeline 9
Inclusion and diversity 9
EU Budget – what you need to know 11
Erasmus+ Partner Countries eligible for International Credit Mobility 13
Application process 14
Do's and don'ts for applicant HEIs 17
Evaluation procedure 22
Grant award decision 22
II – Preparing and implementing the mobility 23
Contractual documents 23
Quality implementation of the project 26
Selection of participants 26
Mobility Tool+ 27
Support to participants 27
Grant payment to the participant 31
Zero-grants from EU funds 32
Interruption, early termination and extension of the mobility 33
Making changes to your project 34
Support and monitoring 36
Traineeships in ICM 38
Staff mobility to and from non-academic organisations 41
III – After the mobility: recognition and reporting 42
Credit recognition 42
Reporting 45
Project timeline 46
Useful resources 47
Contact 47
ANNEX 48
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Acronyms and abbreviations
We have tried to keep the language in this Handbook as simple and as clear as possible. When we
have used acronyms or abbreviations we have made sure to spell these out at least once. Here they
are, just in case…
DCI: Development Cooperation Instrument
EC: European Commission
ECHE: Erasmus Charter for Higher Education
ECTS: European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System
EDF: European Development Fund
ENI: European Neighbourhood Instrument
EU: European Union
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
HEI: Higher education institution
ICM: International Credit Mobility
IIA: Inter-institutional agreement
IPA: Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance
KA107: IT terminology for International Credit Mobility
MT+: Mobility Tool+
NA: Erasmus+ National Agency
NEO: National Erasmus+ Office
OID : Organisation ID
OS: Organisational Support
PI: Partnership Instrument
PIC: Participant Identification Code
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Introduction
For 30 years, the European Union has funded the Erasmus programme which has enabled over 4
million European students to spend part of their studies in another higher education institution (HEI)
in Europe. In 2015, Erasmus+ opened up these opportunities to individuals and organisations from
other parts of the world. Through "International Credit Mobility" - ICM for short - European HEIs can
set up mobility agreements with partners around the world to send and receive students and staff.
What's in it for individuals?
ICM projects aim to help participants acquire key skills, support their professional development and
deepen their understanding of other cultures. The Erasmus Impact Study1 finds that taking part in
Erasmus+ is likely to boost a graduate's employability and transversal skills. Unemployment rates
among Erasmus participants are 23% lower 5 years after graduation compared to those who did
not go abroad. Two-thirds of employers think that international experience is a key asset for job
candidates and leads to greater professional responsibility. Staff can acquire new competences for
their professional development, improve their language skills and learn about new working
methods.
What's in it for institutions?
ICM aims to increase the capacities, attractiveness and international dimension of the organisations
taking part. International ties between institutions will be strengthened, giving the partners the
opportunity to increase their visibility at local and global levels. Both incoming and outgoing
students will be ready to share their positive experiences of studying at your institution.
Purpose of this handbook
This handbook aims to support both Programme and Partner Country HEIs 2 in the implementation of
their ICM project, from application to final report. This handbook will provide you with information
on the key documents, rules and guidelines you will need to be aware of. It will guide you through
the various steps your institution will be expected to take, and tell you where to go for further
information. This handbook does not replace the Erasmus+ Programme Guide 3, which you should
refer to for more detailed information.
We hope you find this handbook useful, and wish you every success with your ICM project.
The International Credit Mobility Team
1
Erasmus Impact Study, September 2014:
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/documents/erasmus-impact-study_en
2
For the purposes of ICM, there are 34 Erasmus+ Programme Countries, which are the 28 EU Member States, Iceland, Liechtenstein,
Norway, the Republic of North Macedonia, Turkey and Serbia. Partner Countries are all other countries in the world.
3
https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/documents/erasmus-programme-guide-
2020_en
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I – What is ICM and how do I apply?
International Credit Mobility (ICM) supports the mobility of individuals enrolled or employed at a
higher education institution (HEI), from a Programme Country to a Partner Country or vice versa,
namely:
• Student mobility for studies, open to short cycle, first cycle (Bachelor or equivalent) or second
cycle (Master or equivalent) students, as well as third cycle doctoral candidates. The mobility
period can last from 3 months (or one academic term) to 12 months.
• Student mobility for traineeships, open from call 2018 to short cycle, first cycle (Bachelor or
equivalent) or second cycle (Master or equivalent) students, as well as third cycle doctoral
candidates. The mobility period can last from 2 to 12 months. See dedicated section on
'Traineeships'.
• Staff mobility for teaching for academic staff and (from call 2018) for invited staff from non-
academic organisations to teach at a partner higher education institution (HEI) abroad. The
mobility period can last from 5 days to 2 months.
• Staff mobility for training for teaching and non-teaching staff in the form of training events
abroad (excluding conferences), job shadowing, observation periods and/or training at a partner
HEI. The mobility period can last from 5 days to 2 months. This activity also supports the
mobility of staff from Partner Country HEIs to train at a non-academic organisation located in a
Programme Country. See dedicated section on 'Staff mobility to and from non-academic
organisations'.
Student and staff mobility can take place in any subject area or academic discipline. Moreover, HEIs
are free to apply for staff mobility or student mobility, or any combination of the two.
Staff teaching and training activities can be combined. A study period and a traineeship can also be
combined, for a minimum of 3 months (or one academic term) and a maximum of 12 months.
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Grant breakdown 4
Individual support
Student monthly Staff daily rate 6
Mobility to…
rate 5 (2018-2020) (2018-2020)
Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein,
Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom
€ 900 € 180
Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece,
€ 850 € 160
Italy, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, the Republic
of North Macedonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, € 800 € 140
Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey
All Partner Countries € 700 € 180
Travel allowance
Travel distances 7 Amount
Between 10 and 99 KM €20 per participant
Between 100 and 499 KM € 180 per participant
Between 500 and 1999 KM € 275 per participant
Between 2000 and 2999 KM € 360 per participant
Between 3000 and 3999 KM € 530 per participant
Between 4000 and 7999 KM € 820 per participant
8000 KM or more € 1,500 per participant
4
These grant rates apply to projects selected from call 2018.
5
The rates for student mobility for studies and for traineeships are the same. In ICM, there is no "top-up" grant for traineeship mobility.
However, some National Agencies for Erasmus+ in Programme Countries allow for student grants to be topped up between € 100-200
per month, both for incoming and outgoing students from disadvantaged backgrounds undertaking studies and/or traineeships. Please
check with your relevant National Agency whether this is possible.
6
These staff mobility rates apply up to the 14th day of activity, after which the grant drops to 70% of the amount shown.
7
Travel distances must be calculated using the distance calculator supported by the European Commission
(http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/distance-calculator_en). The travel distance for one direction is used to
calculate the EU grant amount for the round trip.
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Organisational support
The grant foresees an organisational support (OS) contribution of €350 per participant to cover
costs directly linked to the implementation of mobility activities, such as the selection of
participants, linguistic preparation, visa and insurance costs. It is important that the distribution of
the OS grant as far as possible reflects each partner's workload in support of the mobility project.
The cooperating institutions should agree on how to use or share the OS grant and include the
details in the inter-institutional agreement.
The rules of the programme allow transferring OS funds to travel and individual support (in order to
fund longer or new mobilities). This possibility should only be used in exceptional cases, as it
presupposes that the HEIs are already providing high quality student and staff mobility, including
support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds as well as linguistic and cultural preparation
for all participants. In case that flexibility is used, it cannot exceed 50% of the OS funds allocated
to the whole project.
For more information on the grant, please refer to Part B of the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.
Who can apply?
Any Programme Country HEI is eligible to apply for ICM funding to its National Agency (NA) as an
individual HEI and/or via a consortium application:
• For an application as an individual HEI: The applicant HEI must hold a valid Erasmus Charter for
Higher Education (ECHE) 8.
• For an application as a national mobility consortium: The consortium must hold a higher
education consortium accreditation. Organisations that do not hold a valid consortium
accreditation can apply for this accreditation at the same time as applying for a mobility
project. All HEIs involved in the consortium must hold a valid ECHE.
Skip to section b "Getting the right accreditation" for more information.
Eligible partner organisations
Organisations from around the world are eligible to take part in ICM as partners, with the exception
of those located in regions 5 and 12. 9
Participating Partner Country HEIs must be recognised as higher education institutions (HEI) 10 by the
relevant authority in the Partner Country. They must sign an inter-institutional agreement with their
partner in the Programme Country before any mobility can take place. Find out more about this
agreement in section II of this Handbook.
If an exchange takes place with an organisation that is not a recognised HEI, the mobility is
ineligible and the funds must be recovered. As the organisation submitting the application, the
Programme Country HEI is responsible for verifying the eligibility of all partners in their application,
and throughout the project lifecycle.
Other organisations in Programme and Partner Countries are also eligible to take part in an ICM
project. These organisations can host students on traineeship or HEI staff in training, while staff
8
Erasmus Charter for Higher Education: ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/documents-for-applicants/erasmus-charter-
higher-education_en
9
Region 5: Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City State; Region 12: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab
Emirates.
10
According to the Erasmus+ Programme Guide, this is any type of higher education institution which, in accordance with national law or
practice, offers recognised degrees or other recognised tertiary level qualifications, whatever such establishment may be called, or any
institution which, in accordance with national law or practice, offers vocational education or training at tertiary level.
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from these organisations can be invited to teach at an HEI. These organisations must be active in
the labour market or in the fields of education, training and youth. See dedicated section on
'Traineeships'.
Roles and responsibilities
Participating organisations involved in the mobility project take on the following roles and
responsibilities:
• The applicant organisation (always the Programme Country HEI) submits an application to its
NA on behalf of its partner(s). The applicant can also apply on behalf of a consortium of several
partners from the same Programme Country.
• Once selected, the beneficiary organisation (always the Programme Country HEI) signs and
manages the grant agreement, and reports at the end of the project. The beneficiary is
financially responsible for the entirety of the grant.
• The sending organisation (from either a Programme or a Partner Country) is responsible for
selecting the students and staff and sending them abroad. This includes preparation,
monitoring and recognition activities.
• The receiving organisation (from either a Programme or a Partner Country) hosts the students
and staff from abroad, providing support during their stay.
Students and staff normally apply directly to their institution. The selection criteria for participation
in the mobility activities are defined by the HEIs involved in the project. Many of these procedures
are flexible and institutions are welcome to find the arrangements which work best for their needs,
for example, institutions may prefer to establish joint selection procedures.
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This table provides an overview of ICM activities and eligible organisations:
Student
Student mobility Staff mobility Staff mobility
mobility for
for traineeships for teaching for training
studies
(SMP) (STA) (STT)
(SMS)
Programme or
Partner Country
HEI
Sending Programme or Programme or Programme or
or
organisation can Partner Country Partner Country Partner Country
Programme or
be… HEI HEI HEI
Partner Country
public or private
organisation
Programme or Programme or
Partner Country Partner Country
HEI HEI
Receiving Programme or Programme or
or or
organisation can Partner Country Partner Country
Programme or Programme
be… HEI HEI
Partner Country Country public
public or private or private
organisation organisation
Timeline
The selection of projects for ICM is based on an annual call for proposals issued by the European
Commission and published on the Erasmus+ website in October. The application and selection
process is managed by each NA. This is the NA in the country where the applicant organisation (or
consortium coordinator) is based.
Applicants must submit their grant application to their NA by the deadline specified in the call for
proposals published on the Erasmus+ website, at the latest by 12:00 noon (Brussels time, CET) for
projects starting on 1 August of the same year 11.
ICM projects can run for either 24 or 36 months 12, to be specified at application stage. The start
and end dates of all mobility activities must fall within the start and end dates of the project.
Inclusion and diversity
The Erasmus+ Programme aims at promoting equity and inclusion by facilitating access to
participants with disadvantaged backgrounds and fewer opportunities compared to their peers. To
meet this objective in international credit mobility, it is essential to count with projects that take
inclusion into account since their conception.
Therefore, this Handbook will also highlight different elements that institutions should consider,
from outreach and participant selection, to grant management and support.
11
From call 2019, all projects start on 1 August of the call year, and no longer 1 June.
12
From call 2019, projects can run for either 24 or 36 months.
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Before you get started, check the Programme Guide and see the list of examples of what can
constitute a disadvantage in its section on “Equity and Inclusion” 13:
• Disability and special needs, as well as other health problems.
• Economic obstacles (e.g. low income, etc.)
• Immigrants or refugees (or descendants from immigrant or refugee families); people
belonging to a national or ethnic minority; linguistic differences etc.
• Geographical obstacles, including among others people from remote or rural areas; people
living in small islands/peripheral regions; etc.
• People facing discrimination linked to different social issues.
• Educational difficulties.
Several National Agencies add further details to this list, looking for example at more specific
situations such as that of students with family responsibilities, students who are the first generation
attending higher education, etc. Please check with your National Agency whether such additional
details applies in your country.
13
Erasmus+ Programme Guide 2020
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EU Budget – what you need to know
The EU budget available for this action is split into 12 discrete 'envelopes' for each region of the
world. 14 The size of each envelope is set according to the EU's external priorities, with some regions
benefitting from bigger budget envelopes and therefore funding more mobilities. The largest
budgets are allocated to the EU's neighbourhood regions – East and South, the Western Balkans,
Asia and Russia. 15
In addition to the 12 budget envelopes, the European Commission may provide additional funding
for priority countries or regions, on top of the budgets already available. National Agencies will be
14
The number and size of the budget envelopes will remain relatively stable under each call. The Region 11 envelope was added under
the 2016 call and the Region 9 envelope under the 2017 call. Additional funding may be provided for specific countries. The detailed
budget is communicated each year ahead of the call deadline.
15
The general budget is funded from 5 EU funding instruments: the Partnership Instrument (PI), European Neighbourhood Instrument
(ENI), Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA), Development Cooperation Instrument (DCI) and European Development Fund (EDF). Visit our
website to find out more: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/funding/funding-instruments-programming/funding-instruments_en
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able to opt-in for a share of these extra 'windows'. Namely, under 2020 call there is around 40
million EUR more for cooperation with various African countries, Western Balkans and Ukraine,
Moldova and Georgia supplementing existing funds under the ENI South, , ENI East, EDF and IPA
envelopes shown above.
Applicants should always keep the different budgets in mind when applying for mobilities. There is
little point in applying for the entire national budget available in a smaller envelope (for instance
Latin America or North America) when the NA, especially in large Programme Countries, will be
under pressure to satisfy a large volume of demand from HEIs. On the other hand, competition may
be considerably lower for larger budget envelopes, such as the South-Mediterranean, Eastern
Partnership and Western Balkans.
Applicants should also be aware that NAs are required to ensure geographical balance within
envelopes. This means that, all things being equal, NAs will be looking to fund projects with partners
in low-income and least developed Partner Countries, as well as in the large emerging economies
such as China, India, Mexico or Brazil. 16 So if the applicant has the choice between equally strong
partners, a strategic decision may be to give preference to the partnerships they have with the least
developed countries in a given region.
The EU's international budget (Heading 4) cannot fund short cycle, first cycle (Bachelor or
equivalent) or second cycle (Master or equivalent) mobility, from a Programme Country to any of
the Partner Countries funded by the DCI and EDF instruments 17. This applies to mobility for studies
and for traineeships. Outgoing third cycle (PhD candidates) or staff are eligible to be sent to DCI and
EDF Partner Countries, and Programme Country HEIs can receive incoming students and staff
without any restriction.
To compensate for these restrictions, NAs may choose to use a share of their intra-European
budget (Heading 1) to fund outgoing short cycle, first and second cycle students to Partner
Countries. Applicants should check with their NA before submitting their application.
If you receive this type of funding, please pay special attention to the restrictions regarding the use
of this Heading 1 funding. More information is available in the section “Making changes to your
project”.
All eligible Partner Countries are listed on the next page. For more information on the funding rules,
budget restrictions and country priorities, please visit the NA's website 18 or see the relevant section
in the Erasmus+ Programme Guide.
16
In Asia and Latin America, the EU has set a number of explicit targets which will need to be achieved EU-wide by 2020:
at least 25% of the budget available must go to projects with the least developed countries in Asia, namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal;
no more than 30% of the budget available for Asia can go to projects with China and India combined;
at least 25% of the budget available must go to projects with the least developed countries in Latin America, namely Bolivia, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua;
and no more than 35% of the budget available for Latin America can go to projects with Brazil and Mexico combined.
17
DCI Asia, DCI Central Asia, DCI Latin America, DCI Middle East, DCI South Africa, EDF Africa, Caribbean and Pacific. All eligible Partner
Countries are listed on the next page.
18
National Agencies: https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/node/2105
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Erasmus+ Partner Countries eligible for International Credit Mobility 19
European Neighbourhood Instrument (ENI)
ENI Eastern
Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Territory of Ukraine as recognised by international law
Partnership
ENI South-
Algeria, Egypt, Israel 20, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine 21, Syria, Tunisia
Mediterranean
ENI Russian
Territory of Russia as recognised by international law
Federation
Instrument for Pre-Accession (IPA)
IPA Western Balkans Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo* 22, Montenegro
Development Co-operation Instrument (DCI)
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
DCI Asia
Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam
DCI Central Asia Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras,
DCI Latin America
Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
DCI Middle East Iran, Iraq, Yemen
DCI South Africa South Africa
Partnership Instrument (PI)
PI Americas Canada, Chile, United States of America, Uruguay 23
PI Industrialised Asia Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, (Republic of) Korea, Macao, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan
European Development Fund (EDF)
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi,
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Congo (Democratic Republic
of the), Cook Islands, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji,
Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya,
EDF
Kiribati, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius,
African, Caribbean
Micronesia-Federated States of, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Palau, Papua New
and Pacific states
Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Kitts And Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent And The Grenadines, Samoa, Sao
Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan,
Suriname, Swaziland, Timor Leste (Democratic Republic of), Tanzania, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and
Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
19
Under calls 2018 and 2019, Switzerland and the Faroe Islands were eligible to participate in ICM as Partner Countries, only for
outgoing Student Mobility for Traineeships in 'digital skills' from Programme Countries funded from Heading 1. See section on
'Traineeships' for more information. In call 2020 they are no longer eligible for funding.
20
The eligibility criteria formulated in Commission Notice Nr.2013/C-205/05 (OJEU C-205 of 19/07/2013, pp. 9-11) shall apply for
all actions implemented through this Programme Guide, including with respect to third parties receiving financial support in the
cases where the respective action involves financial support to third parties by grant beneficiaries in accordance with article 137 of
the EU's Financial Regulation.
21
This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions
of the Member States on this issue.
22
*This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo
Declaration of Independence.
23
Having graduated from the OECD's DAC List of recipients eligible to receive official development assistance (ODA), from the
2019 call, Chile and Uruguay will be funded through the PI Americas envelope (Region 13). The DCI rules limiting outgoing student
mobility from Programme Countries will no longer apply to Chile and Uruguay in projects selected from the 2019 Call onwards.
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Application process
The Programme Country HEI will fill in the application form on Tips on choosing the right partner
behalf of its partner(s) and submit the form to its National Agency.
The institution offers transparent
We encourage involving all partners in the application process, as
descriptions of its programmes,
the applicant will be asked to provide detailed information on their
including learning outcomes, credits,
cooperation arrangements and on the wider impact of their mobility
learning and teaching approaches and
project.
assessment methods;
• Finding a partner Its learning, teaching and assessment
procedures are quality assured and
To find a partner, we recommend you look at current or past
can be accepted by your institution
cooperation agreements your institution might have, either at the
without requiring students to take any
level of the institution (typically via the international relations
additional work or examination;
office), or at the level of individual faculties.
Agreements may not only be made
If you are looking for new partnerships, we encourage you to
with institutions offering similar
contact the relevant National Agency, who might know of interested
programmes, but also with
partners, as well as the National Erasmus+ Offices 24 in a number of
institutions providing complementary
countries neighbouring the EU. The EU partner search tool may also
programmes.
prove helpful.
If you are reluctant to enter into new cooperation arrangements,
you can think about starting with staff mobility to build mutual trust before extending the
partnership to sending and receiving students.
• Getting the right accreditation
Having a valid Erasmus Charter for Higher Education (ECHE) is a pre-requisite for all HEIs
established in a Programme Country that wish to participate in a mobility project either as a single
HEI or as a member of a national mobility consortium. A call for proposals for the ECHE is held
annually, and this is managed by the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency
(EACEA) 25. The award of an ECHE is valid for the whole duration of the Erasmus+ programme.
HEIs established in a Partner Country must be accredited by the relevant national accreditation
organisation and should not be subject to EU sanctions. As they are not eligible to receive an ECHE,
the principles of the ECHE are enshrined in the inter-institutional agreement that they sign with their
partner(s). You can find more information on this agreement under section II.
An organisation from a Programme Country, applying on behalf of a national mobility consortium,
must hold a valid consortium accreditation. A call for consortium accreditation is published on an
annual basis by the NAs. A consortium accreditation is valid for three years. Organisations must
request an accreditation before applying for a grant. Please read the relevant section in the
Erasmus+ Programme Guide to find out more about the conditions to obtain a consortium
accreditation.
• The Organisation ID (OID)
OIDs replace the existing Participant Identification Codes (PIC) for decentralised actions like ICM
(PICs will remain valid for centralised actions). The Organisation ID is a 8-digit unique identifier
24
National Erasmus+ Offices are responsible for the local management of the international dimension of the higher education aspects of
the Erasmus+ programme in 27 Partner Countries outside the EU.
25
Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency: https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/erasmus-plus/actions/erasmus-charter_en
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preceded by the letter E. At application stage it is mandatory only for applicants, but during the
lifetime of the ICM project every academic organisation involved will need and OID.
All the organisations that already had a PIC before call 2020 and have participated in a
decentralised action, have received a new OID automatically which can be consulted at the
Organisation Registration web site providing the PIC or other contact details of the Organisation.
Straightforward registration of new OIDs is also possible through that tool.
Before filling in the application form, the Programme Country applicant will need their institution's
Organisation ID (OID). If the Partner Country organisation already has an OID at application stage, it
should be included in the relevant section of the application form. Otherwise, it would be required
for Partner Country academic organisations to have an OID at the moment of encoding mobilities
into Mobility Tool+ 26. Non-academic organisations (for traineeships or staff mobility) do not need
OIDs, except when they receive HE-STT in partner countries.
If either applicant or partner institution has already participated in an Erasmus+ decentralised
action, they will already have a PIC and hence an OID. Please check carefully whether your
institution or your partner already have an OID before registering a new one.
• The application form
The Programme Country institution can only submit one application for ICM per Call for Proposals,
which should contain information on all the mobility activities they intend to carry out with their
partner(s) in one or more Partner Countries. There is no limit to the number of Partner Countries in
26
Mobility Tool+ is the web platform tool for collaboration, management and reporting for mobility projects
under Erasmus+.
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the proposal. The same institution can also apply for ICM as part of a consortium of HEIs in that
country, in which case they are responsible for preventing double funding of the same mobility. In
case of multiple submissions of the same application in the same selection round, the National
Agency will consider as valid the last version submitted before the application deadline. Partners
should discuss and agree upon the details of their cooperation before writing the application.
If applying as a single HEI, the applicant will have to provide its OID. Once the applicant's OID is
entered, the field entitled "Accreditation Reference" will be automatically filled in with the
corresponding Erasmus Code (e.g. A WIEN01). If the "Accreditation Reference" field remains empty,
the OID entered is not linked to an Erasmus Code. Please go to the EACEA website for the most
recent list of PICs and corresponding Erasmus Codes and compare it with the OID obtained in the
the Organisation Registration web site. The Programme Country institution (or organisation) may
apply on behalf of a higher education mobility consortium if it has a valid "Higher Education
Mobility Consortium Accreditation" (from call 2017, 2018 or 2019) or if it has submitted an
application for a consortium accreditation (KA108) in the current call. An accreditation reference
number is structured as follows: 2018-1-ES01-KA108-095047.
If the applicant has a valid consortium accreditation reference number from a successful
application for accreditation and it remains valid for the current call, it will be possible to select the
consortium accreditation reference number in the dropdown menu of the field "Accreditation
Reference". If the mobility consortium has no consortium accreditation yet, it must submit a KA108
application for the accreditation of the consortium before filling in this part of the application. Once
it is done, it will be possible to select the draft "Higher Education Mobility Consortium Accreditation"
as described above. In the case of national mobility consortia for Higher education student and
staff mobility, the coordinator of the consortium applies on behalf of the whole consortium. The
members of the consortium linked to the accreditation reference will be automatically displayed.
• The project
This section is crucially important as it will determine which projects will ultimately be selected for
funding by the National Agency. To successfully complete this section, the applicant must have a
clear idea of whom they are going to work with and how the responsibilities will be divided.
The applicant will list the Partner Countries with which it intends to cooperate. For each Partner
Country, the full legal name of each partner institution must be clearly indicated (mandatory),
together with their corresponding OID (optional at application stage). The applicant is also
encouraged to name the non-academic partners that will host trainees or support staff mobility,
although this information is not mandatory at the application stage. The names of all partner
institutions provided in the application form will be included under Annex II of the grant agreement
between the National Agency and the beneficiary institution, and will therefore become legally
binding.
For each Partner Country, the applicant will enter the type, number and duration of mobility flows
requested, generating the corresponding EU grant requested. Each Partner Country project will be
assessed separately, meaning that the NA might decide to fund mobilities with one Partner Country
and not the other, or reduce the number of mobilities requested.
For each Partner Country, the applicant will be asked to answer four questions relating to:
1) the relevance of the planned mobilities
2) the quality of cooperation agreements
3) the quality of the project design
4) its impact and dissemination for each Partner Country
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Due to limited budget availability, National Agencies may limit: i) mobility flows in (a) particular
degree level(s), for example limiting applications to one or two cycles only – short, first, second or
third cycle, 27 ii) mobility for staff only or students only, and iii) the duration of mobility periods.
Please consult the National Agency's website to find out if any of these limitations apply.
Applicants should use the Distance Calculator 28 to calculate travel distances. If the city of origin and
the host city are the same for all mobility activities in a flow, you should introduce the travel
distance between those two cities. If there is more than one city of origin and/or host city,
applicants may (a) encode a single flow using the average distance band or (b) encode several
flows with different distance bands.
If the National Agency supports first and second cycle outgoing student mobility to regions 6, 7, 8,
9, 10 and 11 29, applicants will have an additional option when applying for outgoing student flows.
They will be asked whether the flow is for "Short, first and second cycle outgoing student mobility".
If the applicant wishes to send students to said regions, it will have to select "yes" and fill in the
flow. This information is required for the NA to ensure that the requested flows are eligible,
according to the secondary criteria that they may have set. To apply for regular outgoing student
mobilities at PhD level and for incoming student mobilities at any level, it will have to select "no" in
the drop down menu and fill in the flow.
Do's and don'ts for applicant HEIs
The following section details each of the four Award Criteria. Using feedback from experienced
evaluators in different Programme Countries, it provides suggestions and useful examples of what
to include and avoid in the application, in order to increase the chances of the project being
selected for funding. The Guide for Experts on Quality Assessment 30 may also prove useful when
filling in this section to shed some light on how each answer will be assessed.
27
First cycle (Bachelor or equivalent), second cycle (Master or equivalent), third or doctoral cycle.
28
Distance Calculator: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/resources/distance-calculator_en
29
See the previous section “Erasmus+ Partner Countries eligible for International Credit Mobility”.
30
2018 Erasmus+ Guide for Experts on Quality Assessment: http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-
plus/sites/erasmusplus2/files/iii.01_esc-eguide_for_experts_on_quality_assessment_2018.pdf
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1. Relevance of the strategy
30 pts
"Explain why the planned mobility project is relevant to the internationalisation strategy of the higher
education institutions involved (both in the Programme and Partner Country). Justify the proposed
type(s) of mobility (studies, traineeship, staff teaching or staff training)."
Do
√ Explain why you want to foster mobility.
Attract talent? Research purposes? Opportunities for staff development? Etc.
√ Explain the preference given to a certain region/country.
Is there any institutional policy favouring the cooperation with this region/country? Is there
particularly strong faculty cooperation with a specific HEI?
√ Explain why the mobility project is relevant to your institution's internationalisation strategy.
Does your internationalisation strategy focus on building partnerships in education, innovation and
research? Is the choice of the partner institution made for strengthening cooperation? How?
√ Explain why the planned mobility project is relevant to the internationalisation strategy of the
partner institution(s). Please contact your partner(s) to find out.
√ Try to provide 'quantifiable information' on the profile of selected partners.
Size and influence in a particular area? Complementarity of faculties/departments involved?
Similarity of study programmes?
√ Try to distinguish the specific aims for choosing mobility of students and/or staff.
Do you need to strengthen the partnership before sending students? Build mutual trust? Ease the
recognition process? Staff mobility might be the way to start.
√ Keep it short and simple, but make sure that you get all your points across.
In case of new cooperation agreements, also:
√ Explain why building cooperation with a new region/country is relevant for all the institutions
involved.
Diversification of your AND your partner's internationalisation strategy?
√ Explain the complementarity of your and your partner's institutions.
DoN'T
Try not to be too generic in your answers.
Do not target cooperation with each and every possible Partner Country, as budget is limited for
International Credit Mobility. In 2015, the average number of Partner Countries in applications was
4 or 5.
Do not focus only on your home institution, but describe what is in it for your partner and what the
common benefits are. Refer to strategies in the Partner Country.
Do not provide the same justification for the choice of different Partner Countries. Although you
might have a largely similar reason for picking partners in the same country/region, benefits will
vary depending on the institution. Be sure you make that clear in your description (e.g. by
emphasising the differences).
Do not copy-paste. If some parts of your answers are the same for each Partner Country or
institution, answer them only once and refer to your first answer throughout the application.
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2. Quality of the cooperation arrangements
30 pts
"Detail your previous experience of similar projects with higher education institutions in this Partner
Country, if any, and explain how, for the planned mobility project, responsibilities, roles and tasks will be
defined in the Inter-institutional Agreement. If applicable, provide information about your previous
experience and planned cooperation arrangements with receiving organisations for traineeships in your
country and in this Partner Country."
Do
√ Explain the division of competences which has been agreed with your partner, as outlined in the
Inter-institutional Agreement.
Who offers which courses and when? Who provides support for visa/insurance/accommodation?
Who is in charge for the selection and/or evaluation of participants? What will the students/staff
have to do? Etc.
√ Detail how the finances will be split between you and your partner, if applicable.
Will you share the Organisational Support grant? Will you provide funds in addition to the EU grant?
√ Explain how communication channels will work between you and your partner.
Who is responsible for the paperwork? How will you monitor and report on the mobilities? Beware
that you will have to report on mobilities in the EU's Mobility Tool+ on a monthly basis.
√ Make sure that you and your partner have the financial and operational capacity to carry out these
activities.
√ Talk about similar previous experience and what this means for future cooperation.
If you have previous experience with institutions in the Partner Country chosen, explain how this
application builds on and enhances existing partnership arrangements?
In case of new partnerships, also:
√ Explain how previous international cooperation experience will be used to develop new partnerships.
√ Provide information about your institution's experience in implementing credit mobility in general
(between Programme Countries or between Programme & Partner Countries).
DoN'T
Do not assume that because you have previous experience, you do not have to explain how your
project will work in future.
Do not talk about cooperation arrangements only from your point of view. Explain what the partner
institution will be doing.
Be careful not to give the same information as in part 3: Quality of the project design and
implementation, where you will be able to further develop the actual project implementation (in
particular selection, support and recognition).
Do not copy-paste.
Handbook for participating organisations
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Handbook for participating organisations
3. Quality of the project design and implementation
20 pts
"Present the different phases of the mobility project and summarise what partner organisations plan in
terms of selection of participants, the support provided to them and the recognition of their mobility
period (in particular in the Partner Country). Bear in mind that certain flows may not be eligible. Please
consult the Programme Guide and your National Agency's website to know which limitations apply."
Do
√ Try to organise this section around the 3 phases of the mobility period: Before, During & After.
What is offered to the students/staff during the different phases? By whom?
√ For outgoing mobility to countries in regions 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, consult your National Agency to
see whether it is eligible. Outgoing mobility to these countries is eligible only at doctoral level or for
staff, unless your National Agency has made additional funds available. If so, specify the number
of students and total duration per study level (e.g. 3 BA students to Cape Town University for a
total duration of 18 months and 2 MA students for 24 months).
√ Mention the completeness and quality of arrangements for the selection, support and recognition,
both at your institution and at the partner institution.
How will the participants be selected? Will they receive support for insurance/visa/housing? What
kinds of facilities are available to the participants (libraries etc.)? How many credits or equivalent
units will they receive? Etc.
√ Try to address the additional support for disadvantaged people, language training, cultural
integration activities, etc. - if planned.
Will participants receive language courses? Will there be social and integration activities? How will
participants from disadvantaged backgrounds or with special needs be encouraged to participate?
√ Give an indicative timeline for each activity.
When will the participants be selected? When will they receive language training? For how long?
When will their mobility periods be recognised? Etc.
DoN'T
Do not forget that secondary criteria might apply (e.g. only staff or only student mobility).
Do not forget to mention the study levels and total duration for outgoing mobility to countries in
regions 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11.
Do not focus solely on what you are going to do, but explain what your partner will be doing
(recognition!).
Do not forget to mention recognition for staff mobility. How will the home university capitalise on
the experience abroad that their staff has undertaken?
Do not simply repeat what you have already said in part 2: Quality of the cooperation
arrangements. Try to develop. If need be, refer to the previousHandbook
part, butfordo not copy
participating paste.
organisations
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20Erasmus+ International Credit Mobility
Handbook for participating organisations
4. Impact and Dissemination
20 pts
"Explain the desired impact of the mobility project on participants, beneficiaries, partner organisations
and at local, regional and national levels. Describe the measures which will be taken to disseminate the
results of the mobility project at faculty and institution levels, and beyond where applicable, in both the
Programme and Partner Countries."
Do
√ Explain the impact and outcomes of the mobility project on the different stakeholders.
What is the expected impact on the participants (e.g. what skills will they acquire)? What is the
expected impact on your institution? What about your partner institution(s)?
√ Explain the impact at local/regional/national level, including in the Partner Country.
How will the outcomes be measured and evaluated? How will you know whether you have
achieved the desired and expected impacts?
√ Describe what dissemination activities you intend to carry out and through which channels.
Do you have means to measure success and disseminate results (e.g. publications, surveys,
newsletters, alumni networks etc.)? If not, how will you develop them? Will you work together with
your partner?
√ Explain who will benefit from the dissemination of project results.
Will you keep the dissemination activity at the faculty/university level only or go beyond? What
about your partner?
√ The stated impact should be relative to the number and type of activities planned.
While sending a Bachelor's student to a Partner Country might have an impact on the individual, it
will hardly have a regional or national impact. But perhaps a focussed exchange of staff in a
particular faculty is embedded within a strategy of developing joint curricula or joint research
projects.
DoN'T
Do not forget to explain the expected impact at the partner institution, on its participants and at
local, regional and national level.
Do not mention only your dissemination strategy, but explain what your partner will be doing.
If your dissemination activities are the same for each partnership, do not copy-paste. Mention them
once and refer to them throughout the rest of your answers.
Do not understand "desired impact" as what you wish to have as impact, but as what you can
actually implement as a result of the mobility activities.
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Handbook for participating organisations
Evaluation procedure
Once the application has been submitted to the National Agency, it will undergo an evaluation
procedure. The NA will appoint experts to verify the eligibility and quality of the application,
supported by the Guide for Experts on Quality Assessment prepared by the European Commission.
Experts will start by assessing the eligibility of all mobility flows requested, taking into account the
budget rules and restrictions outlined in the first section of this document.
If they pass the eligibility check, all planned mobilities with a particular Partner Country will be
assessed separately according to the four quality criteria. Each question will be given a mark out of
20 or 30 as indicated in the guidelines. The total score for the four criteria must be over 60/100 in
order to be considered for funding, with at least 15/30 for the first criterion on Relevance of the
Strategy. In other words, no set of mobility flows with a Partner Country scoring below 60 in total and
below 15 for the first criterion can be funded. According to the assessment of the quality criteria, the
expert may recommend that the NA select only mobilities with certain Partner Countries (e.g. funding
the sub-project with South Africa, but not with Chile), or only some mobility flows within a given
Partner Country (only students or staff, incoming or outgoing). The expert can also recommend
reducing the length of the proposed mobilites. Based on the expert's assessment, an evaluation
committee will then decide which projects are ultimately selected for funding. In keeping with goals
for geographical balance, the committee can modify the ranked order of sub-projects within a given
region in order to ensure a better geographical spread. Where possible and in addition to the
overarching criteria of order of merit and geographical balance, the NA will seek to spread the
available budget widely to avoid a small number of HEIs dominating. The NA will strive to be as
inclusive as possible, maximising participation of stakeholders without undermining quality,
geographic balance or the minimum critical size per mobility project to ensure feasibility.
From call 2020, the grant agreement includes the countries that passed the quality assessment and
for which no funding could be allocated. For more information, please go to “the beneficiary grant
agreement” under Section II – Preparing and implementing the mobility.
Grant award decision
NAs will notify the institutions of their final grant award decision. Successful applicants will be invited
to sign a beneficiary grant agreement with their NA.
If you have not signed an inter-institutional agreement with each of your partners yet, you should do
so at this point, and in any case before the start of the first mobility. You will find more information in
the next section.
If one of your mobility sub-projects passed the quality threshold (60 points), but is rejected due to
lack of funds in the given budget envelope, it may be placed at a reserve list. In the event that any of
the beneficiaries should abstain from receiving funding, NAs can offer the funds to the applicant that
is next on the reserve list for the same budget envelope. The deadline for this is the 31 December of
the call year.
From call 2020, your Grant Agreement will reflect the sub-projects that successfully passed the
qualitative assessment and could not be granted funds due to insufficient funding in a “List of non-
funded Partner Countries”. The condition for this is to receive funding for cooperation with at least
one Partner Country. The objective is to allow for the organisation of mobilities as “zero-grant from
EU funds” within the quality framework of the programme. More details are available in the section
“Zero-grants from EU funds” in part II of this Handbook.
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Handbook for participating organisations
II – Preparing and implementing the mobility
This section covers the main elements that relate to the management of your International Credit
Mobility (ICM) project, using the experience of HEIs and their international offices. Please pay
attention to the contractual documents listed below, and note that National Agencies will request to
see the documents during monitoring visits and/or checks.
Contractual documents
• The beneficiary grant agreement
If the ICM project has been selected for funding, the beneficiary institution in the Programme Country
will have signed a mono-beneficiary grant agreement (or multi-beneficiary, if they are part of a
national consortium) with their National Agency (NA).
This agreement links the Programme Country HEI to its NA and provides the financial support for their
mobility project. The partner institution is not a direct party to this agreement but their mobility
project is described within the grant and is subject to the quality framework and monitoring of NAs
and National Erasmus+ Offices, where available. This grant agreement captures the core of the
project and is based on the information that was provided in the application form, assessed by a
team of evaluators who will have selected the project – or parts of it –
for funding.
The annexes to the grant agreement detail the activities that have been
retained for funding and specify the breakdown of the grant. As
indicated above, the approved activities and the names of all partner
institutions provided in the successful application form will be included
under Annex II of this grant agreement and will therefore be legally
binding.
From call 2020, your Annex II also includes a “List of non-funded Partner
Countries”. These are sub-projects that successfully passed the
qualitative assessment, but no funds could be allocated due to
insufficient funding. Mobilities with these non-funded Partner Countries
may be organised as “zero-grant from EU funds”, for more details on
zero-grants please read the dedicated section. In principle, the selected
mobility flows must be implemented in accordance with this annex.
However, certain modifications of the project are possible with or even
without an amendment.
The inter-institutional agreement
Before any mobility activity can take place, your institution must sign an inter-institutional agreement
with the partner institution involved in the project. You and your partner may wish to discuss the
content of the agreement while preparing the project application. You should sign this agreement
once your project has been selected for funding, and at the latest before the start of the first
exchange. It is crucial that the partners discuss the content of the agreement from the moment they
start preparing their application. Inter-institutional agreements must be made available during
monitoring visits.
January 2020
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